Anil Kumar, the former McKinsey & Co. partner who is a defendant in theGalleon Group inisder-trading case, yesterday moved toward copping a plea. Photo:

The feds may have a canary in their cage.

An ex-senior partner at McKinsey & Co., who was caught up in the recent insider-trading scandal involving hedge fund Galleon Group, has taken the first steps toward what may be a guilty plea, according to court filings.

That means Anil Kumar, one of the dozen-plus people who have been slapped with criminal charges in the case, could become a star witness against Galleon bigwig Raj Rajaratnam.

Yesterday, government prosecutors put in a request to the US District Court of the Southern District of New York that was signed by Kumar’s attorney, Robert Morvillo.

The document, which consisted of a single sentence, informed the court that the US Attorney’s office will file “an information,” in what legal experts say is Kumar’s first step toward waiving his right to be indicted by a grand jury.

The filing suggests that Kumar, 51, may plead guilty — or that he may have reached a deal with prosecutors.

Kumar’s lawyer, Morvillo, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors allege that Kumar passed along tips about companies to Rajaratnam, who had become a friend when they were both attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Among the tips Kumar is accused of passing along to Rajaratnam was one about the timing of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices’ plans to spin off its manufacturing unit.

As a consultant for McKinsey, Kumar was working on the deal for AMD, and allegedly told his college pal that the separation would happen the week after Labor Day 2008. He also advised Rajaratnam to buy AMD shares, and allegedly bought shares himself.

In total, Galleon’s alleged insider-trading scheme resulted in $20 million in ill-gotten gains.

Rajaratnam denies any wrongdoing.

So far, four people have agreed to be witnesses in the government’s case against Rajaratnam and his firm. They include Roomy Khan, an ex-Intel worker, and Steven Fortuna, Ali Far and Richard CB Lee, all of whom are hedge-fund managers.

The four have pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges and conspiracy and are working with the feds in hopes of getting lighter prison sentences.

Earlier this year, Ponzi king Bernie Madoff waived indictment as did his accountant, David Friehling.